Text Box: Artist Biography Originally from Savannah, Georgia and raised in Atlanta, Drummer/Producer/Engineer Gerry Hansen began his music career at an early age with a drive for performance excellence.  Always a stand-out among his peers, his early focus was on jazz and rock n roll.  As his skills developed, Gerry sought out more and more advanced instructors and began to expand his skills to orchestra percussion, jazz kit and music theory.   Gerry established himself through out high school as a premier player and lent his talents to many U.S. jazz festival wins.  He was awarded the Most Outstanding Soloist in the Cleveland Jazz Festival and the Daytona Jazz Festival.  He was recognized for Governor’s Honors Jazz Band and was a member of the elite Georgia All State Jazz Band.  He twice won the Outstanding Drummer Award at the UGA Jazz Festival of Champions.  During this time, Gerry was able to play with Jazz legends, Louis Bellson and Buddy Rich.  Gerry continued to expand his skills under the tutelage of Jack Bell (Principle Percussionist, Atlanta Symphony) at Georgia State University.  He was accepted by Jack as a student at the age of 13 and trained along side Sonny Emery.  During this time, he began session work and interned in some of Atlanta’s top studios.  Gerry’s experience with the many Jazz bands and Orchestras led to his receiving a full music scholarship to Columbus University.  There, Gerry expanded his orchestral and jazz experience as well as advanced music theory studies.   During and after college, Gerry also ventured into digital recording and honed his performance skills through many critically acclaimed bands.  Gerry proved himself to be a critical resource for many studios in the Southeast as both an engineer and a player.  He developed a close relationship with Digidesign and continues to work with them as an Artist consultant and Clinician.   With his studio work increasing, Gerry became a very in-demand player for many producers throughout the Southeast.  His ability to find the right part for the song and deliver it with the right sound and the right feel continues to make him the “go-to guy” for many projects.  Gerry opened his own recording studio, Creekside Station in 1999 and continues to operate that business when he is not touring.  His playing and producing credits are now extensive and include hundreds of independent releases, many label releases, and a multitude of themes and bumpers for TV.  Gerry also lends his talents to many of the sports teams around Atlanta including the Braves and Thrashers.  His publishing Company, Fat Xylophone Publishing was established in 2002.  He is affiliated with both SABIAN cymbals and True Audio Precision as an endorsed artist.  Gerry’s often been complimented by fellow musicians who tell him that “he’s the only drummer they know who is a musician”.  Gerry’s musical talents go beyond drumming to guitar, piano, dobro, world percussion etc.  His abilities to engineer, arrange, produce, mix and play led to several producing projects for artists such as Shawn Mullins, Randall Bramblett, Matthew Kahler and John Austin.  Gerry collaborated with Shawn Mullins on the song “All in my Head” which was featured on an episode of NBC’s “Scrubs” and was included in the Soundtrack CD for the show released by Hollywood Records.  All the drum tracks and many other tracks for Shawn Mullins’ 2006 Vanguard release, “9th Ward Pickin’ Parlor” were recorded at Gerry’s studio.  Shawn hit #1 on the Triple A radio charts and stayed in the Top 10 for many months.  Shawn returned to Creekside in the summer of 2007 to record and mix his next release for Vanguard, Honeydew and again in 2010 for Light You Up.  Gerry was also sought out by music legend Randall Bramblett (Sea Level, Chuck Leavell, Traffic, Widespread Panic, Greg Allman).  Randall and Gerry collaborated to entice a phenomenal group of musicians to form the Randall Bramblett Band.  They toured the U.S. to rave reviews.  They toured with Bonnie Raitt in the spring of 2006 and 2010.  Bonnie’s 2006 release features a Randall Bramlett/Davis Causey tune called “God was in the Water”.   During 2005, when they weren’t on the road, the band converged at Gerry’s studio to record their next album.  Gerry’s extensive recording experience and leadership made him an excellent choice to produce the entire record.  The album, “Rich Someday”, was released in July 2006 by New West Records.   Randall returned to Creekside in Fall 2008 to record and co-produce his next release, Now It’s Tomorrow.  Gerry also played on Randall’s 7th solo album, The Meantime and can be seen in the DVD release “Live at the Rialto Room. Gerry’s skills are diverse but he’s found his niche as a Southern “feel” drummer.  From blues, to swing to rock to country, he is a self-proclaimed “swamp” drummer and is known in intimate circles as the “Gator”.   His influences include Gene Krupa, Jim Keltner, John Bonham, Rod Morgenstein, Max Roach, Buddy Rich, the great Levon Helm and Jack DeJonette. 

Gerry Hansen